Stephen Ware

Stephen J. Ware is the Frank Edwards Tyler Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Kansas School of Law. He specializes in Arbitration, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Bankruptcy Law, Commercial Law, and Judicial Selection. His research emphasizes arbitration reform, constitutional implications of arbitration agreements, and state judicial appointment processes. Ware has authored four books including Arbitration (2020) and over 49 law review articles. His work has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous state/federal cases.

Key research themes include: critiques of the Federal Arbitration Act’s 'arising out of' requirement, analysis of arbitration clauses in bankruptcy proceedings, and empirical studies on judicial impartiality in state court systems. He has taught at six law schools and contributed to foundational ADR textbooks used in law curricula nationwide.

Recent publications focus on intersectional topics like arbitration’s role in debt collection law (2025), judicial selection methods (2023), and the legal treatment of arbitration agreements as executory contracts (2022). His work bridges theoretical law and practical policy, addressing issues from consumer protection to constitutional rights in contractual arbitration.